This disclosure relates in general to copier/printers, and more particularly, to printing systems having a disk type stacker with non-corrugated sheet carrying slots.
In many automatic copying or printing machines, rotating disk stackers are often used for providing combined media inversion and stacking of output copy media. In a typical rotating disk stacker, copy media are sequentially transported into an arcuate receiving slot on a rotating disk. The copy media lead edge is inserted into the receiving slot and the copy media is temporarily maintained in contact with the rotating disk such that the rotating movement of the disk flips the media over and simultaneously guides the inverted media into a collecting tray.
A corrugation feature is usually included in the receiving slot in order to prevent media slippage, media skewing or the like as the media are being manipulated in the rotating disk stacker. The corrugation features are designed to automatically increase the retention of the media within the media transporting slot in proportion to the stiffness of the media. The corrugation feature, however, tends to create an interference force upon the media when inserted in the receiving slot. This interference pattern becomes more pronounce as smooth coated media is inserted tamped axially or removed resulting in a visible defect.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a rotating disk stacker that does not create a visible defect such as an interference pattern.